Successfully Evacuating 995 Indonesian Citizens From Sudan, This Is The Explanation Of Foreign Minister Retno Indonesia Selecting Silent Operations

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi gave a press statement regarding Indonesian citizens in Sudan. (VOI / Fauzi)

JAKARTA - The government has so far succeeded in evacuating 995 Indonesian citizens (WNI) from conflict areas in Sudan, both those who have been sent back to Jakarta and those who are still in a number of countries, said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Friday.

Foreign Minister Retno explained that the evacuation of Indonesian citizens from Sudan was designed very carefully, quietly but quickly.

"The evacuation that we carried out from Sudan was very mature and as we did, we carried out through a silent but fast operation," said Foreign Minister Retno in a press statement in Jakarta, Friday, May 5.

"Why do we always choose a silent operation? Because everything concerns the safety and security of Indonesian citizens that we will evacuate, because the local situation is always very dynamic, very fluid and can threaten the safety of Indonesian citizens," said Foreign Minister Retno.

He further said that when a number of countries were still trying to evacuate their citizens from Sudan, Indonesia managed to evacuate most of its citizens.

As of today, the number of Indonesian citizens who have been evacuated out of Sudan has reached 995 people. In detail, 931 people were evacuated via Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), 15 people via Egypt, 6 people via the UAE and 3 people via Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, the total number of Indonesian citizens who managed to return to Indonesia reached 934 people. In detail, 385 people on April 27, 363 people on April 29, 75 people on April 30, 100 people on May 1, and 11 independent repatriation.

The number of Indonesian citizens who were successfully evacuated but still abroad is 21 people, including 2 in Jeddah, 10 in Egypt, 6 in the UAE and 3 in Ethiopia.

"While the Indonesian citizens who are still in Sudan are 64 people including 13 Indonesian Embassy staff. Most of the 64 reduced from the Indonesian Embassy are citizens who choose to stay for family reasons," explained Foreign Minister Retno.

"There is one who is still being treated at a hospital in Port Sudan, and we continue to monitor, accompany his condition during treatment in the city of Port Sudan," said Foreign Minister Retno.

Meanwhile, the Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha added that the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum is still running as an organization, although the majority of staff are now in Port Sudan.

"The Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum is still operating inside Sudan, there are still two staff there. While most of the others operate from Port Sudan. In the context of the organization continues to operate within Sudan, to ensure all our interests can be implemented," he added.